SEBI approves Startup Village Angel Fund

Kochi: In a major fillip to Startup Village, India’s first telecom incubator, market regulator SEBI has approved the Startup Village angel fund to the tune of 10 million US dollars that could go up to 20 million dollars with a ‘Green Shoe’ (over-allotment) option.

The approval for the angel fund, which would address the problem of resource crunch for start-up companies across the country, came from SEBI through a notification issued on April 23. The focus area of the fund will be Telecom / Internet, and it would start investing once the initial close of two million USD is achieved. KPMG is Advisor and ILFS is Trustee of the fund.

“The angel fund will be investing not only in the most promising start-ups located in Startup Village but also in similar enterprises across the country. We are looking to broad-base the investor profile with a large set of angel investors, many of whom might be first time angel investors in India.” Startup Village Chairman Sanjay Vijayakumar said.

Infosys co-founder and Startup Village chief mentor Kris Gopalakrishnan; MobME, the country’s first campus telecom start-up; Ravi Pillai, founder of the Rs.16,000-crore Bahrain-based RP Group; and other leading angel investors in India will be part of the fund.

Sanjay added that the fund would be investing in the early stage category. It would invest between 20,000 USD and 250,000 USD into start-ups. For higher amounts, the fund would co-invest with other early stage funds.

Welcoming the SEBI’s approval, Kris said, “It will act like a shot in the arm for Startup Village, which would become the first incubator in India to have its own in-house fund. It will help the Internet-Telecom incubator to get the most conducive ecosystem for product start-ups.”